Introduction.If you shoot or are planning to shoot RAW, you are serious about digital imaging, and if you are serious about digital imaging, you need Photoshop.If you do not yet own Photoshop, you will have to buy, beg, borrow or steal to get it. The good news is, however, you do not necessarily need the latest ($ 699) CS4 version.

If you already have a CS version of Photoshop, but ACR is incompatible with your camera’s RAW format, a practical way to make them compatible is through the DNG converter, which - in its current 5.5 version - supports al present and past Nikon DSLR’s, including the D300S, D5000 and D3000.See my Nikon/ACR compatibility chart for more information.

I have shared the last 15 years of my life with Photoshop on a daily basis, have used Nikon View 6 and Nikon Capture 4.x on an important part of the 30.000 plus images I have turned out with different Nikons since 2003 (D1X, D200, D40, Coolpix 8700, Coolscan IV), and have tested all the mentioned programs at one point or another during the last 6 years as well.Since the above is a frequently asked question, and even though I thought I knew the answer, I decided to give it a go, and downloaded a bunch of trials.

Adobe have just published the Camera RAW release candidate 5.5 and the DNG converter 5.5, both of which add support for the Nikon D300S, D3000, Olympus E-P1 and the Panasonic DMC-FZ35.ACR 5.5 and DNG Converter 5.5 can be downloaded for free from the Adobe Labs website. For more about the DNG converter, take a look at this article.All versions of ACR from 5.0 on are ONLY compatible with CS4. Do NOT install incompatible ACR plugins in your plugins folder or there will be serious trouble! If you need to convert RAW files from new cameras for use in previous versions of ACR, get the DNG Converter instead. It can be dowloaded from the same Adobe Labs page.For a complete compatibility overview of Nikon Cameras, Adobe Camera RAW and DNG, take a look at my Nikon/ACR/DNG compatibility chart (PDF 60 Kb.).

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It is fairly common to see people desperately searching the Web, because their version of Photoshop, Lightroom or Elements refuses to open the RAW files of their new camera, mostly generating either a “File not supported” or the far more scary “This file may be corrupted” message.The same may happen in Nikon Capture, and in any case you will either need to update the ACR plugin or upgrade your software.

Most people are not aware that RAW – or in the case of Nikon, NEF – is not a single, unified file format, which is why every new camera needs to be specifically supported in the few good RAW converters out there, be that Nikon View or Capture, DxO, Phase One Capture One, Adobe Camera RAW (ACR), or a DCRAW based product like RAW Therapee or Picasa.To further limit your options, in 2006 Adobe bought up Pixmantec – a company founded by a group of ex Phase One Capture One developers – and makers of the free “RAW Shooter Essentials” software.Thus, if you’ve heard good things about RSE – rightly so – and would like to check it out with a post 2006 camera, you can stop looking right now...

Today, Nikon launched their long awaited D3000 entry level and D300s semi professional cameras.As expected, the D300S is a D300 capable of HD 720p movies with contrast detect AF, although there are some other interesting improvements, such as dual CF/SD card slots, connection for an external stereo microphone, the virtual horizon first seen on the D3 and Active D-Lighting (ADL) bracketing, among others.

The D3000, on the other hand, is in essence a stripped down D5000; it lacks both the articulated screen and movie mode, but has interesting innovations in the form of an improved advanced help system and an new “Easy Operation Guide” which helps users to make the best of this camera.There are already a number of kit options available (depending on territory) like - for example - with the 18-55 and 55-200 "plastic duo" with or without VR, which – to me – make for an ideal (and economical) starter's kit.

After the break I resume the specs of both cameras, as taken from their respective US product brochures.

Nikon has put up a service advisory regarding the D5000. It has to do with a power problem that affects a limited production series of this camera, which may not properly power on, even with a fully charged EN-EL9a battery or connected to AC with the EH-5a power adapter.Affected cameras can be identified through their serial number (located at the bottom of the body - see picture below) and Nikon has set up a special service webpage to allow D5000 owners to determine if their camera is part of this particular batch.

These cameras effectively launched on July 30th. For specs and princing, click here

Nikon Rumors confirms next Thursday, July 30th, as the European launch date for the new Nikon D300s and D3000.If you’re a true fanatic, you might want to check out the Nikon websites during the night of the 29th, to confirm that the rumors are indeed more than just that.As far as the D300s specs are concerned, they are apparently according to what the site published earlier on, while the D3000 appears to basically be a D5000 with the video mode stripped out.

Nikon has another press conference planned for August 4th, supposedly to announce new Coolpix cameras, including one with a built-in LED projector.